Grain Haulers

Discussion in 'Questions From New Drivers' started by drewfarmsllc, Nov 30, 2008.

  1. RickG

    RickG Road Train Member

    12,812
    6,135
    Jul 22, 2008
    Owensboro , KY
    0
    Hopper bottom never paid well for me . I'm taking home more on tanker than I was grossing on hopper bottom and working about 10 hours a week less .
     
  2. Truckers Report Jobs

    Trucking Jobs in 30 seconds

    Every month 400 people find a job with the help of TruckersReport.

  3. kwforage

    kwforage Road Train Member

    1,047
    472
    Jun 3, 2007
    Wisconsin
    0
    I was talking to a guy the other day who told me that he wanted to buy a grain truck because "the farmers around here have nice trucks, so there must be good money in it." I just laughed. He changed his mind when I told him how much my payments were that I had to make every month, even the 6-7 months per year when the truck is sitting in a shed not making a dime.
     
  4. farmbig_01

    farmbig_01 Bobtail Member

    16
    1
    Feb 15, 2007
    0
    Here in southern IL/IN we have seen lines anywhere from 30mins up to 3hrs. We mainly haul rock but when we do haul grain I charge by the bushel but its basicaly based on 3.75 per loaded mile or $100 per load minimum on the short short runs under 15 miles.
     
  5. The_possum

    The_possum Bobtail Member

    39
    8
    Sep 21, 2008
    houghton, MI
    0
    I'm surprised that most people don't charge so much per bushel, per mile... Thats how all the loggers charge around here, so much per ton, per mile.
     
  6. billysworthy

    billysworthy Bobtail Member

    4
    0
    May 3, 2010
    Augusta, KS
    0
    What are the typical weights carried by grain hopper bottoms? How are the bushels counted, I am aware that certain grains, based on size, moisture content will weigh differrent. Basically, how are loads paid?
     
  7. Saddle Tramp

    Saddle Tramp Medium Load Member

    590
    235
    Jul 13, 2009
    laurel, nebraska
    0
    :biggrin_25514: i drive for a farmer so my weight is 80,000 lbs. gross. Some drivers pull 3 axle trailers that can haul 90,000 lbs. or more, as for loads paid, i can't help you. I get paid by the hr.:biggrin_25514:
     
  8. Jfaulk99

    Jfaulk99 Road Train Member

    2,914
    1,648
    May 16, 2009
    Couch
    0
    80k is typical in most states. Reguardless of what the grain actually weighs it's based on an average weight of 56# per bushel for corn, 60# for soybeans, wheat. Loads are usually paid per bushel so the more you can haul the more you make. We have 2 trucks that haul grain 90% of the time so they were made to be as light as possible. One is a KW W900 with a 43' Cornhusker trailer with 80" sides weighs 21,880. So he can haul just over 1000 bushel of corn legal where most guys here locally weigh closer to 28k (some as high as 30k) so he can on average make almost $300 more per week than most trucks. If your working for someone else they usually pay a flat rate per trip or by the HR.
     
  9. Jfaulk99

    Jfaulk99 Road Train Member

    2,914
    1,648
    May 16, 2009
    Couch
    0
    That's my feeling also, it wasn't bad when I did it but I can make way more money with a flat and do a lot less waiting. Problem here is farmers all have their own trucks, which is fine except as soon as they have nothing to do they all want to play "truck driver" and cut the rates on everyone else. Although it's pretty funny when a place relys on their cheap farmer/truckers and then have to scramble when the farmers are back to playing "farmer" and no one else will haul their cheap grain.

    Had to laugh when a few local elevators had to close for a while during harvest because they couldn't get grain out and were full. Seems they were so pro railroad and cheap trucking company they had a hard time keeping up. The only thing more un-reliable than a bottom feeding trucking company is the railroad.
     
  10. TBigLug

    TBigLug Light Load Member

    90
    14
    Nov 26, 2007
    Jackson, MI
    0
    Lines were all pretty short around here up until last week when we all started running wheat. Still, the wait is usually only 10 min to a half hour.
     
  11. KenworthT800

    KenworthT800 Bobtail Member

    4
    0
    May 20, 2009
    0
    I've heard of wait times getting near twelve hours during harvest.

    Here in western NY I have never waited more than two hours. Often, I am able to off load within fifteen minutes if not immediately.
     
  • Truckers Report Jobs

    Trucking Jobs in 30 seconds

    Every month 400 people find a job with the help of TruckersReport.